The number of pedestrians killed along U.S. roadways last year climbed to the highest level since 1990, according to a new report.

An estimated 6,227 pedestrians were killed in 2018, an increase of 250 from 2017, the Governors Highway Safety Association said Thursday. The association based its estimate on data collected by state highway safety offices.

“The alarm bells continue to sound on this issue,” Executive Director Jonathan Adkins said in a release about the rising number of people hit and killed by vehicles. “It’s clear we need to fortify our collective efforts to protect pedestrians and reverse the trend.”

U.S. pedestrian fatalities have increased 41 percent since 2008 and now account for 16 percent of all traffic fatalities, the association said.

Why are more people being killed by vehicles?

For starters, America’s growing love affair with pickups, SUVs and crossover utility vehicles means pedestrians are being hit by bigger, heavier, and more powerful vehicles. As a result, pedestrians who are hit are more likely to die or suffer life-threatening injuries, the association said. Pedestrian fatalities involving SUVs jumped by 50 percent between 2013 and 2017, it estimates.

Another factor is the growing population in many states, which has lead to more deadly encounters between drivers and pedestrians. The report also blames people being distracted by their smartphones and not being focused on the road as contributing to pedestrian fatalities.

Add in a strong economy with relatively cheap gas prompting more people to drive more miles and it’s a deadly recipe for people walking along roads or crossing streets.

The association estimates that five states — Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas — accounted for almost half the pedestrian fatalities in the first half of 2018. The report says New Mexico had the highest pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents in the first half of last year while New Hampshire had the lowest fatality rate.

Placing a loved one in a nursing home is among the hardest decisions you’ll ever make. Here’s how nursing homes in Maryland stack up.

Putting Mom or Dad in a nursing home is one of the most complicated and emotionally painful decisions you may ever have to make. Where you live can dramatically affect the quality of care. Maryland, for example, doesn’t win praise for nursing home care, according to an analysis of the latest data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Care facilities in Maryland ranked 26th with a total score of 3.47 on a 5-point scale, according to the analysis by Care.com, which surveyed more than 900 people about the quality of nursing home care across America, and also where patients experience the most pain.

In our state, 11.7 percent of nursing home patients are short-term care, compared with 4.5 percent in long-term care.

The ranking of nursing homes in our state is based on how well they performed on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, five-star, quality rating system. Nursing homes were rated for their performance in three areas:

Health inspections, based on the number, scope and severity of deficiencies identified during the two most recent annual inspection surveys, as well as substantiated findings from complaint investigations.

Staffing, based on two measures, solely related to the nursing staff: registered nurse hours per resident per day and total staffing hours (registered nurse and licensed practical nurse) per resident per day. (Other types of nursing home staff, such as clerical or housekeeping staff, are not included in this rating calculation).

Quality measures, based on the performance of 16 quality measures: seven for short-term stay residents and nine for long-term stay residents.

The top 10 states for nursing home quality are:

Hawaii — 3.93

District of Columbia — 3.89

Florida — 3.75

New Jersey — 3.75

Colorado — 3.74

Delaware — 3.73

Connecticut — 3.73

Minnesota — 3.72

North Dakota — 3.71

Idaho — 3.71

The 10 worst states for nursing home quality (No. 1 is the worst) are:

Texas — 2.68

Oklahoma — 2.76

Louisiana — 2.8

Kentucky — 2.98

Georgia — 3.01

New Mexico — 3.07

North Carolina — 3.07

Missouri — 3.12

West Virginia — 3.15

Illinois — 3.18

National studies show that 75 percent of older adults prefer to age in their own homes with the assistance of family, friends or professional caregivers. But there may come a time when aging relatives need more care, and that’s where nursing homes come in. There are about 15,600 nursing homes in the United States that together have 1.7 million beds and 1.4 million patients.

Of those who answered the Care.com survey, 71 percent said they were satisfied with the care their loved one is receiving in a nursing home, 18 percent said they were dissatisfied and 11 percent said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

One of the primary advantages to placing a family member in a nursing home is that they have access to skilled care around-the-clock, but that doesn’t mean they are continuously monitored. On average, the report found, each patient receives about four hours of personalized care per day.

In addition to a higher level of medical attention at skilled care facilities versus assisted living facilities or in-home care, benefits of 24-hour care include meal services and assistance with strenuous activities.

More than half of those surveyed said they would provide full-time care to an aging relative if possible, but another 25.5 percent were unsure.

Respondents were also surveyed concerned the most common requests made during a relative’s nursing home stay. Topping the list was requesting special food items at just over 20 percent, followed by extra attention at 19 percent and environmental accommodations (e.g., room temperature) at 17 percent. And 42 percent of respondents said they asked for some type of special accommodation to make their loved one’s stay more pleasant.

Nursing home patients’ well-being also is affected by how often their loved ones visit. The survey also revealed some interesting findings about how people feel about putting their loved ones in a nursing home, as well as how they’d feel if the situation were reversed.

It found that respondents visited their loved ones six times a month on average, staying an average of one hour and 27 minutes per visit. Well over half of the respondents (55 percent) didn’t think they visited enough, averaging only four visits a month. And the 45 percent who were satisfied they were seeing their loved ones enough visited nine times a month.

All nursing home facilities in Maryland are licensed and regulated by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Code of Maryland Regulations outlines the duties and standards nursing homes must adhere to, and specifically restricts activities and behaviors that could harm residents. When caretakers fail to adhere to these rules, your loved one could in fact face needless risks.

If you suspect that a loved one has been abused or neglected in a Maryland nursing home facility, it is vital that you report the abuse to the proper authorities to ensure the protection of your loved one.

Make an Official Report

Nursing home quality varies widely from caregiver to caregiver. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and protected from avoidable pain and neglect that can lead to injury or death. If you suspect that an elderly loved one is being mistreated at the hands of a nursing home caregiver, do not ignore your instincts. Nursing home patients may not be able to communicate mistreatment or may be afraid to do so. If you suspect that elder abuse is happening, you should notify the proper officials. Here are some options to do so:

• Call 1-800-91-PREVENT (1-800-917-7383) to reach Maryland Adult Protective Services. Anybody making a report to this office is protected by state law, which ensures that any person who makes a report in good faith, or participates in an investigation or a judicial proceeding resulting from a report, is immune from any civil liability that would otherwise result.
• Call 1-800-AGE-DIAL (1-800-243-3425) to reach the Maryland Department of Aging. This office was established to protect the rights and quality of life of senior citizens in our state. The department works throughout Maryland and can easily offer assistance.
• At the same number, 1-800-AGE-DIAL, request the office of the Ombudsman for People in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities. This office advocates for residents of nursing homes or other adult care facilities, working to improve services and quality of life for residents.
• The Older Americans Act of 1965 established the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to protect the rights and promote the well-being of residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Every county in Maryland has a local ombudsman office. To reach one, call the Senior Information and Assistance Office in your county and they will connect you. Find the county office numbers at this link.
• Call 1-888-743-0023 to contact the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. This office is particularly helpful in cases of suspected exploitation of elderly citizens. It has formulated an Elder Abuse Initiative in an effort to lower the number of crimes committed against vulnerable adults. The attorney general’s office also offers a free publication on avoiding scams and fraud.
• Call 1-877-402-8201 for Maryland’s Office of Health Care Quality, a division of the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This office oversees the licensing of nursing homes and will conduct an investigation after receiving a complaint involving abuse or neglect.

Taking Civil Action

During this process, it’s best to call an attorney for help with nursing home abuse as soon as you have reported it to the state ombudsman or the HFR. Our experienced nursing home abuse attorneys will work to protect your family against tactics employed by certain facilities to silence victims while building a case that seeks fair compensation for the injustices your loved one has suffered.

Contact Potter Burnett Law to help guide you through this process. Our team of compassionate Maryland nursing home negligence attorneys has the skills and experience necessary to handle your nursing home abuse or neglect case. Call 301-850-7000 or fill out our contact form to schedule your free initial consultation at our Bowie, Maryland office.

With literally tens of thousands of car accidents in the United States every year, one can only hope not to be involved in one. Regardless of practicing safe driving habits, sometimes a car accident is unavoidable. If you have the misfortune of being involved in a crash, it can sometimes be a small comfort to know that car insurance coverage, your own or the other driver’s, will most likely kick in and help pay for medical treatment and vehicle damage. In some cases, however, even though a minimum amount of liability car insurance is legally required in almost every state, there are still drivers behind the wheel without insurance.

If you are injured in a car accident caused by another driver, your injury claim is filed against the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. While you can purchase insurance coverage in higher amounts than the minimum state requirements, many drivers in Maryland purchase the minimum amounts of liability insurance.

Sadly, many car accident claims exceed coverage necessary to handle the resulting expenses that are incurred, especially if the at-fault driver is uninsured or has minimal limits. However, when buying car insurance in Maryland, you will likely purchase something called uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is insurance you pay for as part of your automobile insurance policy which covers your losses and damages if you are injured in an accident caused by an uninsured driver or a driver with limits lower than you. Even though Maryland drivers are required by law to purchase car insurance, many drivers disobey the law. If a driver does not have car insurance, you can usually assume that the driver does not have any personal assets that could be used to pay your expenses from a car accident. In addition, UM coverage can pay your damages in a hit and run accident. Therefore, UM coverage is essential to protect you in the event that an uninsured driver causes an accident.

Even though this option is available, it’s best to consult an experienced Maryland auto accident attorney if you’re involved in a vehicle crash with an uninsured motorist. Often times, uninsured motorist claims are denied. Even though you may be dealing with your insurance provider, you should not assume they will treat your claim any differently from other insurance claims. In other words, you need to be very cautious.

Our Maryland car accident attorneys have the experience necessary to help you best handle an uninsured motorist claim. Contact Potter Burnett Law today to receive a free evaluation of your car accident case.

Accidents with uninsured or underinsured drivers happen. When they do, you may need an experienced car accident attorney to advocate for your losses.

Did you know that more than 116,000 Americans are injured and 1,300 are killed per year due to snowy road conditions? Maryland winters are known to bring severe inclement weather to the area. Even the smallest amount of snow, sleet or ice can make driving hazardous. To ensure that you are not negatively affected by these dangerous driving conditions, we have five winter weather driving tips that are sure to help keep you safer on the road.

• Always keep your gas tank full in the winter, especially if you know of inclement weather approaching.

• Get your tires checked! Using a gauge, check the pressure inside your tires, making sure they are at the correct measurables. You also want to check the tread of the tires. This can be done by placing a penny inside the tread. You want to be able to see Lincoln’s head while the penny is placed in the tread. If you can’t see the top of his head, it may be time for new tires.

• Having clean headlights is crucial in regard to their effectiveness in winter weather. Visibility is important when it comes to heavy precipitation.

• Try applying a winter time mixture of cleanser and windshield fluid to your windshield in order to prevent freezing.

• Make sure that your cars heat and defroster is working properly.

If you do happen to find yourself involved in a car crash this winter, contact Potter Burnett Law to speak with one of our highly knowledgeable personal injury attorneys.

]]>Our Pride Gives Backhttps://www.potterburnettlaw.com/2018/12/19/our-pride-gives-back/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 18:44:48 +0000https://www.potterburnettlaw.com/?p=1629Potter Burnett Law adopted a family for the holidays through the Anne Arundel Bar Association Angel Tree program. Each year in December, the AABA office transforms into Santa’s southern workshop and every corner is filled with bags full of gifts for local children in need.

The Angel tree program is co-sponsored by the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and the Office of the Clerk of the Court. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, the AABA invites members to select an Angel Tree Card bearing the name, age and size of a local child in need. The members then provide wrapped gifts containing new toys and clothes, which are delivered to the child’s family one week before Christmas.

Our Pride is grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a special community service program as well as the opportunity to have helped a wonderful family this holiday season.

The majority of 2018 model cars come with inadequate headlights and most “good-rated” headlights are optional or bundled to cost more money, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to buy a fully loaded vehicle to get the headlights they need to safely drive at night,” says David Aylor, manager of active safety testing at IIHS. “All new vehicles should come with good headlights.”

The IIHS began rating headlights for passenger vehicles in 2016. That year, only 2 of 95 headlights on 2016 vehicles earned a “good” rating. In 2018, the best-available headlights on 32 of 165 models earned the highest rating while 58 models were given the second-highest rating. Poor-rated headlights were the only option available for 43 models.

Because models have different options for headlights, IIHS engineers tested a total of 424 headlight variants. The IIHS found a total of 67 percent earned marginal or poor ratings due to factors such as inadequate visibility, excessive glare from low beams for oncoming drivers, or both.

“In the past two years, manufacturers have made changes to improve headlights, whether through better aim or the light source itself,” Aylor said. “But we still see a lot of models where the base headlight is poor, so buyers really have to do their homework to make sure they are getting the best available headlights.”

Thanksgiving in Maryland and the rest of the United States is traditionally the heaviest travel period of the year. Not only do airports get crowded, but the roadways get pretty busy too as people hit the road to visit family and friends. If you plan on driving to reach your destination for Thanksgiving dinner this year, there are several precautions you can take as a driver to avoid a car accident. Here are seven tips to help ensure that you, your passengers, and other drivers enjoy a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

1. Make sure you’re well-rested. Driving while fatigued is extremely dangerous. While you might not fall asleep at the wheel, your mind may not be fully alert. If you plan to travel during late hours to avoid heavy traffic and begin to feel sleepy, rotate drivers or pull over into a safe area to take a brief nap before driving again.
2. Light the way. Depending on what time of day you hit the road, it’s important to use your headlights as soon as it begins to get dark, or otherwise instructed by any road signs. Before leaving, clean your headlights, taillights, signal lights and windows to help you see. Turn your headlights on as dusk approaches, or if you are using your windshield wipers due to inclement weather.
3. Eliminate behind-the-wheel distractions. Distracted driving is a year-round hazard, but it is especially important to remember around the holidays when there is more traffic on the road than usual. Refrain from distracting activities like eating or using your smart phone.
4. Avoid the hours with the most traffic congestion. Driving during busy hours may not seem dangerous due to the slower movement of vehicles; however, many patients grow impatient and weave in and out traffic in hopes of reaching their destinations faster. These reckless drivers pose serious dangers to all drivers sharing the road.
5. Seatbelts. Oftentimes, passengers grow restless during long car rides. In many cases, restless passengers will move their seatbelt to improper positions. However, in the course of a car accident, a person who is wearing their seatbelt inappropriately can face severe injuries. During your Thanksgiving car ride, ensure all passengers are wearing their seatbelt properly for the entire duration of the drive.
6. Stay Sober. Alcohol-related accidents skyrocket around the holidays. If your holiday plans involve any festive drinks, make sure you don’t drive and designate a sober driver to get you home.
7. Avoid pressured driving. Many people place pressure on themselves to reach their destination as soon as possible, and with so much traffic on the roads, it can be difficult not to give in to frustration and impatience. However, it is not worth compromising your safety, your family’s safety, or the safety of others on the road by driving aggressively or speeding.

Lastly, be aware of troopers and emergency personnel on the roads who are assisting those in need. The last thing you want is for your holiday to be ruined by a car accident, so remember to play it safe and realize that it is better to arrive at your destination late than not at all. The Potter Burnett Law team wish you and yours a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. Please drive safely.

Not getting enough shut-eye each night can be detrimental to your health. It can also affect your ability to drive, according to a new report.

Over the past several years, numerous studies and public health and safety campaigns have focused on reminding us just how dangerous driving while tired can be. Although fatigue and a lack of sleep have become part of daily life for many people, these efforts have shown us that drowsy driving, according to an older study from 2016, can be just as dangerous as driving drunk.

Researchers haven’t let up on studying the impact of fatigue when it comes to our driving abilities. In fact, new research suggests that sleep-deprived drivers may be an even bigger problem than previously thought.

Researchers from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently conducted a study, published in the Sleep journal, to determine the relationship between sleep deprivation and motor vehicle crashes.
“While the dangers of driving drowsy were already well known, this is the first peer-reviewed study to quantify the relationship between how much a driver has slept and his or her risk of being responsible for a crash,” the authors wrote.
For their assessment, they examined data from a previous trial administered by the United States Department of Transportation, which included information on 5,470 crashes, including interviews with the drivers involved.
After analyzing the results, they found an estimated 7 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in America and 16 percent of fatal crashes involve driver drowsiness.
Upon further investigation, they discovered drivers who got fewer than four hours of sleep were 15 times more likely to cause a car collision, compared to those who received seven to nine hours. In fact, they compared the risk to that of drivers with a blood alcohol concentration roughly 1.5 times the legal limit.
“Being awake isn’t the same as being alert. Falling asleep isn’t the only risk,” coauthor Brian Tefft said in a statement. “Even if they manage to stay awake, sleep-deprived drivers are still at increased risk of making mistakes—like failing to notice something important or misjudging a gap in traffic—which can have tragic consequences.”
The scientists also revealed drivers who slept less than four hours had an elevated risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in injury or death. Furthermore, those who had changed their sleep or work schedule in the past week and those who had been on the road for three hours or longer without taking a break also had an increased risk.

As we all know, sleep is a critical component to the way we function in our daily lives. For any number of reasons, though, most people tend to underestimate the dangers they pose to themselves and others when they get behind the wheel while deprived of sleep. To help ensure your safety and the safety of those around you, it’s important to prioritize sufficient and quality sleep, and take steps to avoid drowsy driving.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The state of Maryland on Thursday announced a $2.2 million settlement in its suit against the owners of Neiswanger Management Services, a nursing home company that routinely discharged patients when their Medicare coverage ran out and they had no income for further care.

Capital News Service ran a series in September 2016, called “Discharging Trouble ,” that shared the stories of several patients who, at the end of their coverage, had been left at the doorstep of unlicensed assisted living homes where they alleged they were assaulted and robbed.

Following the series, the Maryland Attorney General’s office filed suit against the company, which ran five nursing homes in the state, but accounted for about 67 percent of the state’s involuntary patient-discharges between January 2015 and May 2016, according to a complaint filed as part of the lawsuit.

There were 225 other nursing homes in the state at the time, according to the document.

“Each year, NMS unlawfully evicts from its nursing facilities hundreds of frail, infirm, mentally ill, and physically and intellectually disabled people,” Attorney General Brian Frosh wrote in the complaint.

Frosh then argued that by discharging patients in “unfair or unsafe” ways, the company directly violated provisions of receiving Medicaid, which prohibits nursing homes from taking payments for some patients while improperly discharging others.

The state asked the court to charge the company $10,000 per Medicaid claim it filed in the 16-month period.

Neiswanger filed a countersuit in March 2018, alleging the company was being unfairly targeted by state officials, Capital News Service reported .

Frosh said this would be dismissed as a term of the settlement.

In a statement Friday, Ian Prior, a spokesman for Neiswanger Management Services wrote, “The State of Maryland has agreed to walk away from its supposed blockbuster of a lawsuit against NMS, throwing in the towel for a tiny fraction of what it originally demanded. . What the State really gets is this: NMS will drop its retaliation lawsuit against top State officials, sparing them from the embarrassment of a trial.”

Frosh spokeswoman Raquel Coombs said the settlement “sends an appropriate, additional message that this type of conduct is inhumane and unacceptable.”

“As a result of its egregious conduct, NMS is no longer in business in Maryland and is permanently prohibited from returning to business,” Coombs said, adding that “no additional frail, vulnerable patients will be harmed.”

“They were very bad actors; they were taking advantage of the most vulnerable in our state,” Frosh said in an interview with Capital News Service this week. “They were not providing a level of care that they should have provided.”

He said the company had already stopped offering nursing home care when they reached a settlement, but the state wanted to continue prosecuting the owners of Neiswanger Management Services.

“The point is, these guys were cheating the state, and they were endangering the lives of the people who were in their care, so they are no longer doing business as NMS,” Frosh said.

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